Middle Orient

Israel is engaged in efforts to de-escalate tensions in Sudan, but its security and diplomatic leaderships are split between the two fighting camps. The director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Ronen Levy, confirmed Thursday that Jerusalem is involved in international efforts to de-escalate the current conflict in Sudan and is …

Crisis Group’s work preventing conflict and shaping peace has a positive influence on crises around the globe. This Impact Note highlights cases in Afghanistan, Colombia, Ethiopia, Mali, Nagorno-Karabakh, the U.S. and Yemen, as well as our advocacy at the EU and UN and our research on climate and conflict in …

Young Palestinians have formed new armed groups across the West Bank. Small, disjointed and scattered, they lack a clear political agenda. But both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have found reason to exaggerate the threat they pose to the status quo. In the past couple of years, a new generation …

On 10 March, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore diplomatic relations as part of a Chinese-sponsored initiative that appears aimed at reducing tensions across the Middle East. Crisis Group experts offer a 360-degree view of the implications for the region’s many flashpoints. On 10 March, representatives of Iran and …

Diversification and Less Confrontation After a Decade of an Activist Foreign Policy (FPRI) — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in the last two years intensively pursuing a diversified foreign policy. This stems in part from disappointment with American reactions to the Houthi drone attacks on Abu Dhabi in February …

Twelve terrorists of the PKK’s Syrian wing, the YPG, have been killed in northern Syria as Ankara retaliated after a recent attack on Turkish soldiers, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said late Monday. Speaking in the central Kayseri province during an iftar dinner with earthquake victims, Akar underlined that Ankara continued …

Palestinians gathered intelligence on IDF operations in the West Bank on behalf of Hezbollah. Indictments were filed against two Palestinian West Bank residents after they had been recruited to conduct operations on behalf of Hezbollah and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, the Shin Bet (Israel Security …

In the absence of any desire on the part of the Biden administration to support the Saudis — for decades one of Washington’s most important allies in the region — China has moved quickly to fill the diplomatic vacuum to launch its own initiative to restore ties with Iran.[T]he fact …

Ansar al-Islam (AAI) is a jihadist group that formed in September 2001 in Iraqi Kurdistan from the merger of two small groups: Jund al-Islam, which was then led by Abu Abdullah al-Shafi’i, and a splinter group of the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan, which was led by Mullah Krekar. In time, …

The new sanctions target individuals and companies across nine countries, including Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa, tied to a Belgian-Lebanese art and diamond dealer. The Biden administration announced sanctions Tuesday on what it described as an international money laundering and sanctions evasion network backing an art dealer …